Holiday Cookie Exchange Ideas

What better way to celebrate the holiday season than with a cookie exchange party? Whether you’re the host or a guest, try out one of these delicious recipes made by members of our very own eHow team. But be sure to save a few for Santa. No doubt these will put you on his "nice" list this year.

Cate Norian

Stained Glass Stars

"We made these for a class project when my daughter was in third grade. She's grown now, but it wouldn't be Christmas for either of us without Stained Glass Stars. We cut out the stars, cut out the center with a smaller star cutter, and then fill the opening with crushed Jolly Rancher candies. Cover the cookie sheet with parchment before assembling the stars, and let them cool a bit before taking them off the sheet after baking. Be careful not to overfill—the candy will run all over and ruin the cookies if you add too much—and watch the timer. The candy will scorch if you bake them too long." – Jerri Farris, Editor in Chief

Hallongrottor

"Hallongrottor is Swedish and means 'raspberry caves.' They’re a fairly common cookie in Sweden and probably have a counterpart here in the US that I just haven’t come across yet. The beauty with these cookies is that you can put any filling you want in the middle, so let your imagination run wild." – Johan Mengesha, Senior Manager, Content

Mexican Hot Cocoa Ice Cream Sandwiches

"Mexican hot cocoa is my favorite winter drink. The cinnamon and chili powder give the cocoa depth of flavor and a warming kick. In the cookie version of this winter treat, the ice cream provides a creamy, cooling accompaniment to the spicy chocolate cookie." – Mary Dacuma, Content Manager

Melting Snowman Cookies

"Cooking is not exactly my forte, and I am often intimidated by the beautiful baked goods and cute confections people make. I love these melted snowman sugar cookies because they are the essence of imperfection—a poor snowman who has succumbed to the heat. They're a great match for someone with my culinary ability. I changed the recipe up a bit and used licorice for the scarves and slices of orange gummy candy for the noses." – Rachel Joy Horn, Editor

Roly-Poly Santas

"Help from my friend, Nancy (Facebook.com/TheCakeStories), made these Santas surprisingly simple! Use 1/2 teaspoon and 1 tablespoon measuring spoons to get perfectly sized pieces (you scoop; have the kids roll). Roll all the balls first, and then assemble. Place a medium star icing tip into the cut-off corner of a sandwich bag, and VERY gently squeeze at top of the icing bag (or it could get messy)." – Bryan Koch, Associate Product Manager

Christmas Wreath Cookies

"As a young girl, I spent many holiday seasons helping my mom bake cookies for all our friends and neighbors, and I was always fascinated with this particular one. Butter, marshmallows, cereal? Done. For my own family, I’ve changed it up a bit using gluten-free corn flakes and mini red M&Ms instead of Red Hots for decoration. After shaping into wreaths (careful—it’s hot), let cool a bit before adding the chocolate, or else the M&Ms might melt." – Laurie Grossman, Manager, Content

Orange Blossoms

"My mom made these Orange Blossom cookies when I was a kid, but the recipe got lost over the years—we were ridiculously excited when she found it online. To me, they taste like childhood, like there's a cedar tree we cut down and dragged through the snow now standing by the fire, decked in cranberries and popcorn. Like Santa's coming in the morning and I just can't wait to see if he brings the Nifty Notebook I've been begging for. Minus those memories, they taste a little like a Dreamsicle. And they're super simple since you don't even bake them." – Jerri Farris, Editor in Chief

Christmas Coal Cookies

"I started off with a fancy recipe my grandma handed down to me, but I couldn't find a couple of vital ingredients at my local grocery store so I improvised heavily and I came up with this. They look and taste nothing like Gran's cookies, but they're pretty great." – Michael Alarcon, Content Manager

Chocolate Snowballs with Peppermint

"The recipe calls for rolling these cookies in powdered sugar, but I add crushed peppermints afterward, because it's the holidays, and you can't go wrong with peppermint and chocolate. Be sure to pack the brown sugar tightly—these are not very sweet and can be a little bitter if you don't use enough brown sugar." – Jerri Farris, Editor in Chief

A Very Sweet Surprise

"Who doesn’t love finding a sweet surprise! Roll cookie dough into small, thin circles. Keep half of the circles as is and take the other half and place them into the cupcake tin like you would cupcake liners. Press with your finger so it creates a smooth little cup and pop them all (flat circles included) in the oven (350 degrees for 10-12 minutes). The dough will rise so don't pack too much into each portion. Once they’re done, fill the bottom cups with your favorite chocolate candy. Place the flat cookie on top, using icing gel as glue to hold the two cookies together. Decorate the cookie to resemble a gift and serve. Your guests will be overjoyed with the cookie that keeps on giving!" – Garineh Magarian, Associate Editor

Cate Norian

Butter Pecan Toffee Cookies

"This recipe is so quick and easy. I love having the ingredients around so when I have unexpected (and expected) guests show up around the holidays I can bake up some pecan goodness in less than 15 minutes!" – Tulika Kidambi, Director, Business Analytics

Sugar Cookie Trees

"These sugar cookie trees have been on my 'gonna do someday' list for years, and I even bought the graduated star cookie cutters. This year, I made them to justify having packed and unpacked those cookie cutters through three moves. Turns out they're ridiculously easy and fun to make. The secret is Royal Icing, which I swear would hold up not just gingerbread, but an actual house. Like with any sugar cookie project, I used Betty Crocker's sugar cookie recipe." – Jerri Farris, Editor in Chief

The Exchange

So now that you’ve got some delicious ideas to add to your recipe box, why not throw your own cookie exchange party? It’s a simple and sweet way to share in the holiday spirit with friends and loved ones. Click the link below to get started. Happy holidays!